Would You Play Pokemon With An Older Character?

[moonfly7]

So, I've thought about it for a bit, and honestly it would be really awesome to play a pokemon game where you are not a young 10-12 year old beginning your journey, but an older, perhaps grizzled and/or traumatized adult getting back in the game. With as many pokemon fans are older nowadays, and with just how popular the comeback trope is, I'm surprised pokemon hasn't done this. Obviously they won't because their target audience is still kids and said adults will play pokemon anyways, but still, it would be pretty cool.
I suggest that this game, if it were to exist, should be called pokemon Gun Metal Grey, and center around an older character asked by an old friend from his trainer days to watch over said friends kid on his journey. This leads to the Player accidentally being roped into the pokemon league and avoiding being noticed by his friends kid, whilst defeating the pokemon gang of the region before the kid can run into them and get hurt.
You could actually do a lot with this concept, both touching, fun, and grim and gritty. You could have a scene where the player visits the grave sites of his first pokemon, laments why/how he gave up the life of a trainer, have actually inspiring moments where we can see someone whose given up on everything comeback to what he lost, and even get to feel in tune with this character a tad because he's been through this all before, he knows Pokemon like the back of his hand, just like how most Veteran Pokemon Players have been there before and know the game and it's pokemon like their own hands.
It'a not a great idea, or revolutionary in any way, but I'm surprised that I couldn't find the concept of an adult main character even in the fan games(Or at least the ones I searched) so I wanted to see if anyone else thinks that would be fun, or if it's just me.

[Kitten Champion]

Honestly, what difference would it make when you have a silent protagonist who makes no decisions? It would be a cosmetic change for your avatar, essentially.

To make playing an adult character meaningful they'd need to give the PC some kind of characterization beyond everyone praising you effusively for succeeding on the linear adventure you're on.

[137beth]

Obviously they won't because their target audience is still kids and said adults will play pokemon anyways, but still, it would be pretty cool.

There's no reason a game that's appropriate for all ages can't have an adult character as the protagonist. The Mario franchise usually puts an adult in the lead role and they still have no problem getting E ratings and selling games to kids.

However,

Honestly, what difference would it make when you have a silent protagonist who makes no decisions? It would be a cosmetic change for your avatar, essentially.

To make playing an adult character meaningful they'd need to give the PC some kind of characterization beyond everyone praising you effusively for succeeding on the linear adventure you're on.

This. The protagonist of the mainline Pokemon games isn't important: they are just an avatar for the player.

[Anonymouswizard]

While the protags of most Pokemon games are 10-12, there have been cases where they've been older (I think Black/White was about 13/14, and my headcanon is that the MC of Sun/Moon is about that age as well). It seems that more serious and plot-heavy Pokemon games tend to get older protagonists.

But going all serious and gritty? At that point it'll likely come off as a bad attempt to go full MegaTen, but with the disadvantages of people viewing the series as relatively lighthearted and the monster designs tending towards being cute instead of scary. And I love MegaTen,, but I also love Pokemon, and so if I want grizzled mon stuff I'll go for the former.

[Bartmanhomer]

There's no reason a game that's appropriate for all ages can't have an adult character as the protagonist. The Mario franchise usually puts an adult in the lead role and they still have no problem getting E ratings and selling games to kids.

However,



This. The protagonist of the mainline Pokemon games isn't important: they are just an avatar for the player.

I agree. I don't see any reason to play Pokemon as an older character. It can be of any age, to be honest.

[Mystic Muse]

At this point, I will only play a new pokemon if they let me play as an older character. There's a weird cognitive dissonance when the main character is supposed to be me, and are 10 or 12, when there are characters who clearly start their pokemon journies at all life stages.

[Bartmanhomer]

I'll play Pokemon as an older character.

[Lord Raziere]

well keep in mind, with official games older protags or grittier story is probably never going to happen. Nintendo operates on Disney levels of control over their IPs. they are not going to change anything, they want to be squeaky clean kid friendly forever. and if you don't like that? they don't care, because your not the target audience to them.

there are however a couple pokemon fan games I can tell you about if your interested.

[DataNinja]

While the protags of most Pokemon games are 10-12, there have been cases where they've been older (I think Black/White was about 13/14, and my headcanon is that the MC of Sun/Moon is about that age as well). It seems that more serious and plot-heavy Pokemon games tend to get older protagonists.

But going all serious and gritty? At that point it'll likely come off as a bad attempt to go full MegaTen, but with the disadvantages of people viewing the series as relatively lighthearted and the monster designs tending towards being cute instead of scary. And I love MegaTen,, but I also love Pokemon, and so if I want grizzled mon stuff I'll go for the former.

Yeah, for the most part, as long as the age is vague, I don't mind, honestly. It did throw me out of things when the canonical age of the Alolan protagonists was stated in-game to be 11, though.

And, to the OP... they did do somewhat of a different take on the formula with Wes in Colosseum, but, at the end of the day, they have a specific audience they want to cater to, and specific needs for all of their marketing departments. The games have a very specific image they uphold. I imagine they definitely could do something more along the tones of the manga, but the more "adult" (in the sense of the general experiences of the demographic) a game is, the less relatable it'll be to their core market.

Something to note, at least, is they do at least nod to it at time. Kabu in Galar basically is making his comeback now, at his age.

[Razade]

Unless the game is suddenly different than the standard Pokemon game, I don't think it matters. I don't play for the main character, because they aren't a character. I contend no one else plays because of the main character for any Pokemon game that isn't a spin off. They also play for the Pokemon.

So unless you did something like Tales Of: Pokemon a Telltale Game where the character had some meaningful impact on the story...what does it change?

Also the contention a kid wouldn't play an adult is so obviously untrue I don't think anyone really needs to address it. Young kids play video games of every genre they can. That's all the evidence you need.

[DataNinja]

Also the contention a kid wouldn't play an adult is so obviously untrue I don't think anyone really needs to address it. Young kids play video games of every genre they can. That's all the evidence you need.

It's not so much as "kids not playing adults" that I think'd be the issue, it's that what resonates with people who have lived certain experiences doesn't hit as strongly with those who're not old enough to have them yet, is all.

At the core, the mainline Pokémon games really tend to tell a coming of age story. Because that's something that everyone can relate to. Whether they're in the process of it, or have gone through it in the past. Could another type of story work well? Absolutely, with care and work. Is that likely to mesh with what content that all ties into the main Pokémon media everything? ...probably not. I was mostly just refuting that the world-weary/traumatized adult would be a good fit, because a lot of what the games try and sell, regardless of what it is, is discovery and wonder. And having a response of cynicism seems like not the best fit for that.

[Aotrs Commander]

If I am to consider ever getting another Pokémpon game again, my concerns lie in the direction of entirely mechanical ones. Getting rid of the open world (I am increasingly less interested in more grind and the grand collectaton started to lose interest after the first time - hell, the transfer trhough Gen III onwards is the only reason I completed the Dex in III/IV/V and all-bar-the-shouting in VI) and bringing back XP share as as something you turn off and having better training battles is more important than what age the character is.

Actually, those last two could be solved by the simple addition of DIFFICULTY SETTINGS, this novel concept that every other game (except maybe, like Dark Souls or something) seems to have heard of, but it some sort of insane moon-magic as far as GameFreak are concerned something they half-tried ONCE, after locking it behind game completion. I mean for FRACK'S SAKE Pokémon is ONLY game I've ever played where I would like it to be harder (and no, I'm not interested in that being by self-imposed difficulty, either.)

[Anonymouswizard]

To be fair I think there are a couple of nonmainline games with MCs in their 20s due to following a different style of story but for various reasons I think we can assume that mainline PCs won't go higher than mid-teens (what the Black/White cast were).

Is that to say that a game where a Gym Leader suffers a mid-life crisis and decides to go on an adventure of self-discovery is a bad idea, played seriously it could work especially if in the later stages it noticeably diverges from 'beat the Pokémon League to more mundane goals. It would have to be a smaller game due to not being something the target market for Pokémon will identify with, but small does not mean bad or unsuccessful.


Plus yeah, bring back the option to turn off XP share and add a hard mode, I can agree with those over anything to do with the MC.

[Velaryon]

I may not be the best person to weigh in on this since I have only played generations 1, 2, and 7 (and was basically dragged into 7 by friends) of Pokemon, but I honestly do not care who or what the main character is. Pokemon's story is as generic as can be, and to call the characters one-dimensional would be to ascribe more personality than most of them even have. Honestly if they replaced the main character with a block of cheese it would change nothing at all.

I guess if they decided to change that and make the game a bit more narrative-based, and then went with an older character, I would at least be curious. But if they keep the same basic story that has kept the franchise going for the last 25 years, then I don't think it'd make me any more or less likely to play the game.

[Seto]

I've been wishing for a more "mature" Pokémon games for years, yes. I don't mean necessarily an older character (any age is okay), but a more complex game with some character nuance, hard decisions, possible romance, real story beats... More of an RPG with a story that can interest all ages up to and including the grownups is what I mean.

It doesn't mean to be dark and gritty, it should be kid-friendly. But do we really need that kind of hand-holding, both in story and gameplay? I mean heck, I get that kids are their target audience, but as we've been getting older, it feels like every game's been getting increasingly easy and naive! And it's not just our own change of perspective either: it feels like the "target audience" is two years younger every gen. Just look at the rivals, they're good indicators. Gold and Silver had a cool character arc with your rival Silver: an unpleasant kid who's the son of a mob boss, and initially treats his Pokémon like tools because that's how he was raised - but progressively finds his own path, both in life and in battle, and ends up more mature and reformed. See, that's something called a story. He changes during the game, and battling you, the player, is pivotal in that evolution. There's dramatic progression there. Blue in gen 1? He was always ambushing you, battling you at the worst times, egging you on, beating you to the Champion title, and you two brought out the best in each other. Now rivals are nothing but friendly faces who praise every one of your easy "accomplishments".

I also miss the kind of independent exploration that really made the world yours. Despite my rants, I love Pokémon games. I'm not opposed to change, and I don't think old generations are necessarily better than new ones. There was a number of story things I liked about gen 7. It was daring : there were aliens, parallel dimensions, an ugly mother-children relationship (the kind of more complex characterizations I'm encouraging), and you got to actually make history by being the first League Champion... and defending your title! But to get to all those good parts, you had to suffer through constant supervision. I swear to Arceus, the game wouldn't leave me alone in Mele-Mele! Every time you turn a road, a friendly NPC appears to tell you what to do next. And when it's not the NPCs, it's your fricken Rotom-Dex! Felt like 20% of the game was a neverending tutorial. Give me some space and some quiet!

Gameplay wise, same thing: yes, difficulty levels are absolutely, sorely needed. Pokémon's never been a challenging game, but it gets ridiculously easy sometimes. I'm not talking about the quality-of-life changes: I'm all for making it easier to raise IVs, breed Pokémon for competition, dispensing with HM slaves... But I want the Gym battles at least to actually carry some tension, instead of cruising through the game without even trying! Let me earn my badges and my Champion seat!

Anyway, rant over. Don't let it fool you, I think there are amazing things in every Pokémon game, and I enjoy discovering new gens. But if GameFreak actually made an adult-friendly main series game? I'd be all over that. Hey, we can dream.

[Peelee]

At the core, the mainline Pokémon games really tend to tell a coming of age story. Because that's something that everyone can relate to. Whether they're in the process of it, or have gone through it in the past.

I've never come of age and every person on this forum knows it!

[DataNinja]

But I want the Gym battles at least to actually carry some tension, instead of cruising through the game without even trying! Let me earn my badges and my Champion seat!

With regards to this one, I actually found the Gen 8 games to basically be the perfect difficulty in this regard. But only if you A) completely ignored the glut of EXP candies Raid Battles gave, and B) basically didn't use restoratives.

I didn't feed EXP candies, and my levels pretty much exactly matched the areas' levels. Even with battling everyone, and getting into wild fights. Heck, Leon was 5 levels higher than me! And using only 1 restorative like the Gym leaders? I almost lost a few times. With Nessa, it literally came down to if my last hit would, well, hit or not. I only won against Leon because I broke into my Max Revives the game'd thrown at me. Set mode would have increased that more.

So, there can be difficulty, there's just... unfortunately not much of a distinction of what makes things too easy or not.

[Bartmanhomer]

I'm pretty sure there have been some Pokemon storylines that have not been kid-friendly. Generation 1 was somewhat dark.

[Ramza00]

Can I be an old man with a cane who tells the children to get off my lawn, and if they keep searching the Pokémon grass I throw my poke balls unleashing an Arcanine or whatever hound Pokémon is in fashion?

[Seto]

With regards to this one, I actually found the Gen 8 games to basically be the perfect difficulty in this regard.

Really? I might want to give it a shot then! I didn't buy it till now because:
1- I don't own a Switch, I'd have to leech off my roommate's.
2- I was excited about SM. I pre-ordered Moon, got it on the release date and enjoyed it, but I felt like a fool when USUM came out. It was the same game, but more and better, and just a short year after. Like, "you mean I could have waited for a bit and gotten the complete game in one purchase, rather than shell out twice?" So I promised myself I would wait to see if something similar happened with the next game, and directly buy the more complete version. What's the status on that, by the way? I know an extension just came out, but is it like a separate game, a rehashing of Sword and Shield, or is it like DLC and you need the base game to play it?

I'm pretty sure there have been some Pokemon storylines that have not been kid-friendly. Generation 1 was somewhat dark.

True, and gen 1 was fine (if lacking in character development)! I would still call it kid-friendly, though, just not... toddler-friendly, I guess? But my point was that it keeps getting lighter and sweeter everytime. Its aesthetics and character depth now have a lot in common with the cartoons designed for ages 4 to 7, and I mean this literally.

[Velaryon]

2- I was excited about SM. I pre-ordered Moon, got it on the release date and enjoyed it, but I felt like a fool when USUM came out. It was the same game, but more and better, and just a short year after. Like, "you mean I could have waited for a bit and gotten the complete game in one purchase, rather than shell out twice?" So I promised myself I would wait to see if something similar happened with the next game, and directly buy the more complete version. What's the status on that, by the way? I know an extension just came out, but is it like a separate game, a rehashing of Sword and Shield, or is it like DLC and you need the base game to play it?

I felt much the same. UltraSun/UltraMoon felt like a slap in the face, being a rerelease so soon after the original versions but with more stuff. It really felt like they deliberately screwed over the people who jumped to support the games right away. It reminded me of how a lot of hard rock and metal bands back in the late 1990s/early 2000s would rerelease albums with an extra track a few months to a year after the release. And this was absolutely a factor in my choosing not to buy the next generation of games.

[Bartmanhomer]

Really? I might want to give it a shot then! I didn't buy it till now because:
1- I don't own a Switch, I'd have to leech off my roommate's.
2- I was excited about SM. I pre-ordered Moon, got it on the release date, and enjoyed it, but I felt like a fool when USUM came out. It was the same game, but more and better, and just a short year after. Like, "you mean I could have waited for a bit and gotten the complete game in one purchase, rather than shell out twice?" So I promised myself I would wait to see if something similar happened with the next game, and directly buy the more complete version. What's the status on that, by the way? I know an extension just came out, but is it like a separate game, a rehashing of Sword and Shield, or is it like DLC and you need the base game to play it?


True, and gen 1 was fine (if lacking in character development)! I would still call it kid-friendly, though, just not... toddler-friendly, I guess? But my point was that it keeps getting lighter and sweeter every time. Its aesthetics and character depth now have a lot in common with the cartoons designed for ages 4 to 7, and I mean this literally.

Yes. Gen 1 was a good game even though I didn't get all the Pokemon in gen 1.

[Kantaki]

Really? I might want to give it a shot then! I didn't buy it till now because:
1- I don't own a Switch, I'd have to leech off my roommate's.
2- I was excited about SM. I pre-ordered Moon, got it on the release date and enjoyed it, but I felt like a fool when USUM came out. It was the same game, but more and better, and just a short year after. Like, "you mean I could have waited for a bit and gotten the complete game in one purchase, rather than shell out twice?" So I promised myself I would wait to see if something similar happened with the next game, and directly buy the more complete version. What's the status on that, by the way? I know an extension just came out, but is it like a separate game, a rehashing of Sword and Shield, or is it like DLC and you need the base game to play it?

DLC(s). New areas, story* and stuff.
Add-ons basically.

With USUM...
Yeah, pretty much a disappointment.
The original story was better for one.

*ORAS Delta Episode might be a good comparison.

[Xyril]

Honestly, what difference would it make when you have a silent protagonist who makes no decisions? It would be a cosmetic change for your avatar, essentially.

To make playing an adult character meaningful they'd need to give the PC some kind of characterization beyond everyone praising you effusively for succeeding on the linear adventure you're on.

This is pretty insightful. I never thought about it, but the bland generic praise you get in all the games is pretty much how a lot of adults treat kids when they accomplish something reasonably difficult, and it's largely interchangeable. Guess that makes scripting a lot easier.

[DataNinja]

Really? I might want to give it a shot then! I didn't buy it till now because:
1- I don't own a Switch, I'd have to leech off my roommate's.
2- I was excited about SM. I pre-ordered Moon, got it on the release date and enjoyed it, but I felt like a fool when USUM came out. It was the same game, but more and better, and just a short year after. Like, "you mean I could have waited for a bit and gotten the complete game in one purchase, rather than shell out twice?" So I promised myself I would wait to see if something similar happened with the next game, and directly buy the more complete version. What's the status on that, by the way? I know an extension just came out, but is it like a separate game, a rehashing of Sword and Shield, or is it like DLC and you need the base game to play it?

Yeah, genuinely, I found it to be great when just ignoring the extra ways for competitive players to super-boost. I also went in deliberately blind... which was a bit of a mistake for this gen, because, man, all the obtuse evo methods. And the annoying Pokémon that don't evolve forever and are stuck with 4 moves. Seriously, Gamefreak. What is it with you and giving Gen 8 'mon no movepools???

The Ultra games... I was super mixed on. Overall, they 100% were unneeded. The mechanics were way better... but I genuinely found the story worse. And I get why they wouldn't rehash it, but it wasn't changed in any meaningful way that improved it. And having gone into both games blind... Moon's story was amazing to me, Ultra's was disappointing.

Galar's story I found... underwhelming. They had some interesting concepts, but the pacing was off, and how some of the aspects are treated is either a big plus or a big minus for people. But, difficulty-wise? You'll get a decent challenge here, I feel. Can't speak for the DLC stuff, though, didn't get that. I know the newest one is post-game levels, though.